TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Vermillio
Steve Harvey fans may think the actor is asking them to give money an awful lot these days—but it's not really Harvey. In the era of AI deepfakes, celebrities are finding their images and voices repurposed in ways they don't like, from pornography to scams asking fans for money. Vermillio helps them protect (and potentially license) their name, image, and likeness (NIL) data. 'The thing that emerged last year is the people asking for this money were terrorist organizations,' says Vermillio CEO Dan Neely, who now works with Harvey and many other celebrities via partnerships with powerhouse talent agency WME and Sony Music (among other groups). Neely says the four-year-old startup is now scanning 99.9% of the internet—2 trillion items yearly—to identify AI-generated likenesses of clients, and work with platforms such as Meta and YouTube to have them taken down. Through its partnerships with talent agencies, Vermillio lets clients decide what they want to allow (like fan art), or monetize. It's a fast-growing space: Revenue from the company's TraceID AI rights management platform has grown tenfold from April 2023 to April 2024. 'All our customers start by wanting to protect themselves, and then all of them very quickly go into a place of monetization,' Neely says.
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Before Lauren Sánchez met Jeff Bezos, she already had a career as a TV reporter, helicopter pilot, and occasional actress. She dated an NFL player, married a talent agent, and lived in a multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills mansion. But Sánchez's fortune completely changed when she was introduced to Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos. While the exact date of their first meeting isn't clear, they were known to run into each other at Hollywood events, and their casual friendship quickly blossomed into romance-even though they were married to other people. After the couple's scandalous debut (and their respective divorces) in 2019, Sánchez and Bezos embarked on a very public relationship that put their wealth on ostentatious display. They were often seen in the front row at fashion shows, attending the Met Gala in 2024, and partying with A-list friends like Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian, and Kris Jenner. 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Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The Mayor of Venice even released a statement dispelling some of the rumors, adding that there will only be 200 guests in attendance and that the couple promised that the event won't disturb the fragile city's historic architecture. But Sánchez has insisted that she's just "like every other bride," telling People she even "has a Pinterest board" for ideas as she plans what sounds like the wedding of every girl's dream: One with an unlimited budget. So, what's Lauren Sánchez's net worth? According to Celebrity Net Worth, Lauren Sánchez has an estimated net worth of $30 million in 2025. It's unclear how much of that she has made herself, since the website does not provide specifics on Sánchez's salary or career earnings. However, it does report that Sánchez's first husband, Patrick Whitesell, has a net worth "north of $300 million," due to his role as partner at WME, the William Morris Endeavor talent agency, which represents a roster of film stars, including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Ryan Reynolds, and Denzel Washington. Related: Jeff Bezos' net worth: How Amazon's founder spends his billions WME also owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, a major global sports brand as well as the world's largest mixed martial arts organization. UFC events are watched by millions of people on pay-per-view streaming channels, so you can see how Whitesell amassed such wealth. People reported that when Sánchez and Whitesell divorced in 2019, they divided up their property according to the prenuptial agreement they had in place. Since Sánchez already seems to be familiar with prenups, she may not have had an issue signing one with Bezos. According to Evolve Media, Bezos has a "watertight" prenup in place ahead of his wedding to Sánchez. Evolve cited a source by a Hollywood attorney named Alphonse Provinziano, who leaked details of their agreement to the media, comparing its complexity to a "business merger," and stating that it would "survive any legal challenge." Provinziano went on to say that Bezos made the resources of a legal team available to Sánchez so that she could understand the "complex accounting arrangements and business deals he's involved in," in the hopes that, should they divorce in the future, she would be unable to claim that "he hid certain assets from her." On December 19, 1969, Lauren Wendy Sánchez was born. Both of her parents were pilots. Her father, Ray Sánchez, later became a businessman in the aviation industry, while her mother, Eleanor, was also Los Angeles' former Assistant Deputy Mayor. Sánchez is a third-generation Mexican American, and she was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a cheerleader at Del Norte High School, Sánchez struggled in school. She graduated in 1987 and went on to study acting and speech at the University of New Mexico before moving to California and transferring to El Camino College. There, a professor diagnosed Sánchez as dyslexic, giving her a pocket dictionary as a tool to aid her writing. "It changed my life," she later told The Daily Mail, "I went from barely a 2.0 student to the dean's list and got a scholarship to USC." Sánchez majored in communications at USC, and while in college, she interned at Los Angeles' TV station KCOP-TV. In 1994, she was offered a full-time job as a reporter at KTVK in Phoenix, Arizona, and her career began. Related: Who is Mark Zuckerberg's wife? Everything to know about Priscilla Chan The 5'3" reporter next had a stint as an entertainment reporter on the syndicated entertainment news show "Extra." She later co-hosted "Good Day LA" and was also an anchor on "Fox 11 News at Ten." But entertainment wasn't her only interest. As an avid sports fan, Sánchez also held jobs as an anchor and correspondent for Fox Sports Net. She received an Emmy nomination for the sports talk show "Going Deep" and was a reporter on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period." Sánchez didn't only work as a reporter on TV; she also appeared in films as one, too. Her credits include small parts in 1999's "Fight Club" starring Brad Pitt; 2005's "Fantastic Four," "Akeelah and the Bee" (2006), "College Road Trip" (2008), and "Ted 2" (2015), to name a few. In 2000, Sánchez auditioned for a co-hosting seat on "The View," but ultimately lost out to journalist Lisa Ling. Although she was crushed, Sánchez later revealed that she did take a valuable lesson from the experience-from none other than Barbara Walters herself. The veteran broadcaster noticed that Sánchez had traded her usually glamorous, form-fitting attire for a more conservative look, and asked her what she was thinking. Sánchez recounted Walters' advice to her, saying "If you're going to go down, go down as yourself. Because if you don't go down as yourself, you're going to beat yourself up twice." In 2005, Sánchez was offered the chance to host the popular FOX show "So You Think You Can Dance?," although she left after one season to focus on her children. In 2009, in celebration of her 40th birthday, Sánchez made a career pivot and obtained her helicopter pilot's license. In 2016, she founded Black Ops Aviation, the first woman-owned aerial film and production company. In 2018, Bezos' aerospace company, Blue Origin, hired Black Ops Aviation to film footage of its space travel adventures, although the two were rumored to have met a few years earlier, possibly as early as 2016, at an Amazon Studios party for the film "Manchester by the Sea." Lauren Sánchez has been in the news a lot recently-and not just for her highly anticipated wedding. Why did Lauren Sánchez go to space? On April 14, 2025, Sánchez led an all-female crew on a 10-minute suborbital space flight aboard Blue Origin's NS-31 self-flying rocket. The crew, which reached an altitude of 65 miles above the Earth, consisted of Sánchez, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, TV personality Gayle King, and pop star Katy Perry, received widespread media attention-although little of it was positive. Critics decried the move as little more than a vanity project for a billionaire and his girlfriend-tone-deaf at a time of widespread economic disparity-and memes and parodies on social media were quick to follow. Why was Lauren Sánchez at the Presidential Inauguration? On January 20, 2025, Sánchez appeared alongside her boyfriend at the Inauguration of President Donald Trump. They were part of a group of billionaires known as the "New Oligarchs," which included Apple's CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai, and Tesla's CEO Elon Musk. Trump had offered them seats of honor-in front of his own cabinet picks, which was seen by many as controversial. But Sánchez's outfit ruffled even more feathers, since she chose to wear a cleavage-baring white corset with a suit jacket to what is normally viewed as a conservative political occasion. More on wealth: Elon Musk's net worth: Inching toward trillionaire statusMark Zuckerberg's net worth: What the Facebook founder makes as CEO of MetaTim Cook's net worth: How much the Apple CEO's stock is worth Sánchez favors form-fitting designer clothing that showcases her curves. As a natural beauty who participated in beauty pageants as a teenager, she was later named one of "People's Most Beautiful" in 2010 and appeared in US Weekly's "Hot Bodies" issue. But in recent years, Sánchez has been criticized for her increasingly plasticized appearance, and many believe she's had breast implants and lip injections, although she has neither publicly confirmed nor denied the procedures. Her lips, which seem to inflate with Amazon's earnings, have been particularly scrutinized-leading people to ask Google, "Can Lauren Sánchez close her mouth?" Sánchez has been engaged numerous times, accepting rings from the late sports broadcaster Rory Markas and Baltimore Ravens' wide receiver Anthony Miller. In addition, she and Kansas City Chiefs' tight end Tony Gonzalez had a four-year relationship that ended in 2002; in 2001, she gave birth to his son, Nikko. They have maintained a friendly co-parenting relationship. Sánchez dated "NYPD Blue" actor Henry Simmons from 2002–2003. After saying "yes" to his marriage proposal, the couple owned a home in Manhattan Beach, Calif., before eventually breaking things off. Allegedly, Sánchez started seeing Patrick Whitesell while they were still living together. Sánchez and Whitesell met through mutual friends in 2005; their August wedding was a celebrity affair attended by Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Hugh Jackman, and, of course, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Sánchez and Whitesell had two children together, son Evan (born 2006) and daughter Eleanor (b. 2008), before filing for divorce in April 2019. Under the terms of their agreement, which was finalized that October, they share joint custody of both children. Another rumor going around contends that Whitesell himself may have introduced Sánchez to Bezos, as he had suggested that they "work together on a documentary." Sánchez and Whitesell bought a Beverly Hills mansion for $11 million in 2006. In 2017, they purchased an adjoining lot for $4.5 million; it had been owned by the late director Tony Scott. Fast forward to 2021, and Bezos and Sánchez were part of a private transaction that purchased a sprawling compound on the Hawaiian island of Maui for $78 million. In addition to a 4,500-square-foot home, the 14-acre spread includes a separate guesthouse, outdoor kitchen, pool, private beach, and expansive Pacific Ocean views. But Bezos and Sánchez's main residence is actually on the other side of the country, in the Sunshine State of Florida. The couple owns a series of properties in Miami's exclusive Indian Creek neighborhood, known as the Billionaire Bunker. Their three-mansion compound is worth a combined $238 million, and their neighbors include Tom Brady, Ivanka, and Jared Kushner. In April 2025, Bezos sold the home he had purchased after divorcing his first wife, Mackenzie Scott. The sprawling 9,420-square-foot abode sold for $63 million, making it the most expensive home ever sold in Washington state. Bezos is rumored to have relocated to Florida to avoid paying the capital gains tax. Related: The 10 most reliable car brands in 2025 according to Consumer Reports The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
